{"id":1479204,"date":"2022-05-18T08:29:58","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T12:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1479204"},"modified":"2022-05-18T08:31:08","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T12:31:08","slug":"fbi-at-durham-sussmann-trial-says-they-rejected-alfa-bank-claims-within-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-at-durham-sussmann-trial-says-they-rejected-alfa-bank-claims-within-days\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI at Durham-Sussmann Trial Says They Rejected Alfa-Bank Claims Within Days"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffbi-at-durham-sussmann-trial-says-they-rejected-alfa-bank-claims-within-days%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1479204&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody\">\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody-body\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"ArticlePage-articleBody-firstLetter\">A<\/span>n FBI agent involved in analyzing the <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/cia-has-known-trump-russia-collusion-data-not-technically-plausible-since-2017-durham-says\">since-debunked<\/a> Trump-Russia <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/democratic-lawyer-sussmann-fights-durham-use-of-fbi-expert-testimony-on-alfa-bank-data-accuracy\">collusion claims<\/a> pushed to the bureau by Democratic cybersecurity lawyer Michael Sussmann testified that an analysis rejected claims of a secret back channel to Russia within days. <\/p>\n<p>Sussmann <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/sco\/pr\/grand-jury-indicts-dc-attorney-making-false-statements-fbi-2016-regarding-alleged\">was charged<\/a><\/u> last year with <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-grand-jury-indicts-lawyer-allegedly-lying-fbi-concealing-ties-clinton-campaign\">concealing<\/a><\/u> his clients \u2014 Hillary Clinton&#8217;s 2016 campaign and \u201cTech Executive-1,\u201d known to be former Neustar executive Rodney Joffe \u2014 from FBI General Counsel James Baker when he pushed debunked allegations of a secret line of communication between the Trump Organization and Russia\u2019s Alfa-Bank during a September 2016 meeting. <\/p>\n<p>Scott Hellman, currently an FBI supervisory special agent leading a team investigating cybercrime, said he and a supervisor retrieved the thumb drives and other information passed to the FBI the day after the Baker-Sussmann meeting, reviewed the secret communication claims, and quickly rejected them. <\/p>\n<p>Special counsel Robert Mueller, the FBI, the CIA, a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee investigation, and John Durham\u2019s team have all <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/durham-limited-in-presenting-evidence-that-collusion-claims-were-untrue-judge-says\">cast doubt<\/a><\/u> on or rejected the Alfa-Bank claims touted by the Clinton campaign. <\/p>\n<p>Hellman said the Alfa-Bank allegations included \u201ctechnical data\u201d such as website names and domain names as well as a \u201cnarrative\u201d about the conclusions reached by the creators of the report \u201cbased on their analysis of the data.\u201d Hellman said he and his then-supervisor, Nate Batty, conducted an analysis and then compared the FBI\u2019s assessment of the data to the narrative that had been pushed. <\/p>\n<p>Hellman said the allegations claimed there was a \u201csecret communications channel\u201d between the Trump Organization and Alfa-Bank, and he said his analysis with Batty rejected this after roughly a day. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe did not agree with the conclusion \u2026 that this represented a secret communication channel,\u201d the FBI agent testified. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Whoever had written that paper had jumped to some conclusions that were not supported by the data,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cThe methodology they chose was questionable to me.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>He said the claims of a secret channel \u201cdidn\u2019t make sense to us,\u201d in part because it was implausible that the Trump Organization would use its own name to connect to a Russian bank directly when it was allegedly supposed to be secret. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was not enough data there to make the conclusion that there was any communication, or the secret communication between the Trump Organization and Russia,\u201d Hellman said. <\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-sussmann-lawyers-clash-in-opening-to-trial\">&#8216;A TRIAL ABOUT PRIVILEGE&#8217;: DURHAM AND SUSSMANN CLASH IN COURT<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n<p>An exhibit entered into evidence showed \u201cWhite Paper #1,\u201d which had been provided to Baker by Sussmann. The findings of that report were that \u201cthe Trump Organization is using a very unusually configured \u2018secret\u2019 email server \u2026 for current and ongoing email communications with Alfa Bank (Moscow).\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The paper claimed, \u201cThe only plausible explanation for this server configuration is that it shows the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank to be using multiple sophisticated layers of protection in order to obfuscate their considerable recent email traffic.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The prosecution entered into evidence an analysis summary that Hellman and Batty wrote within a day of looking at the data, in which they assessed \u201cthe research conducted in the report reveals some questionable investigative steps taken and conclusions drawn.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The FBI summary noted that the investigators in the report that had been passed to the FBI had &#8220;searched, via publicly available information, for every internet domain \u2026 that had \u2018Trump\u2019 in it.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Hellman testified: \u201cI did not feel like that was the most expeditious way. \u2026 They were just looking for key terms. \u2026 It didn\u2019t make sense to me.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The FBI report from 2016 also said: \u201cIt appears suspicious that the presumed suspicious activity began approximately three weeks prior to the stated start of the investigation conducted by the researcher.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Hellman echoed this in his testimony Tuesday. <\/p>\n<p>Hellman said Russia would\u2019ve had a much better \u201ctechnical capability\u201d to \u201chide\u201d such secret communications than a direct link between the Trump Organization and Russia. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did not feel that they were objective in the conclusions that they came to,\u201d Hellman said. \u201cThe assumption that you would have to make was so far-reaching that it just didn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The FBI agent said his document was drafted and then sent to the FBI\u2019s office in Chicago for a \u201cspecial investigation\u201d there. He said he believes FBI Chicago then opened an investigation. <\/p>\n<p>Hellman said he had \u201cno involvement in the investigation\u201d but had brief conversations with some agents in Chicago, and \u201cChicago had looked at the data further and they agreed with our assessment \u2026 that there was no secret communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russia.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>He argued that \u201cthe motivation of whoever is giving me the information is very important.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Hellman said knowing the source of the information could influence his views on how \u201cauthentic\u201d the data is and whether to trust it. He said political affiliation is another \u201cdata point that I would take into consideration if I were to open a case.\u201d And whether the data was being pushed on someone else\u2019s behalf would also be relevant. <\/p>\n<p>Durham has said that one of the white papers pushed to the FBI by Sussmann was authored by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which had been hired by Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias. Fusion was also responsible for hiring British ex-spy Christopher Steele as he authored his discredited dossier. <\/p>\n<p>Durham also said Sussmann <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/courts\/sussmann-wants-durham-filing-about-trump-white-house-snooping-stricken-from-record\">claimed<\/a><\/u> to the CIA in 2017 that data to which he had access \u201cdemonstrated that Trump and\/or his associates were using supposedly rare, Russian-made wireless phones\u201d called YotaPhones \u201cin the vicinity of the White House and other locations.\u201d Durham found &#8220;no support for these allegations.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The special counsel <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/cia-has-known-trump-russia-collusion-data-not-technically-plausible-since-2017-durham-says\">revealed<\/a><\/u> the CIA \u201cconcluded in early 2017\u201d the Alfa-Bank and YotaPhone information was not \u201ctechnically plausible&#8221; and did not \u201cwithstand technical scrutiny.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>The judge has slapped limits on Durham\u2019s ability to cite the <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/durham-focuses-on-russian-yotaphones-clinton-campaign-lawyer-linked-to-trump\">inaccuracy<\/a><\/u> of Trump-Russia <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/cia-has-known-trump-russia-collusion-data-not-technically-plausible-since-2017-durham-says\">collusion claims<\/a><\/u> in his prosecution. <\/p>\n<p>Sussmann attorney Sean Berkowitz displayed Lync messages, from the FBI\u2019s internal messaging service, allegedly from Hellman the day after the Baker-Sussman meeting that said, \u201cThe more I read this thing \u2026 it feels a little 5150ish,\u201d a reference to the white paper Sussmann provided to the FBI. <\/p>\n<p>Hellman explained Tuesday, \u201cI thought that the person who had drafted this document may have been suffering from some mental disability.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>He confirmed to Berkowitz that he had quickly dismissed these claims. An email from Batty the next afternoon, just before 5 p.m., had the subject line \u201cAnalysis of Trump White Paper.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Sussmann, who also <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/strzok-pushed-falsehood-on-trump-russia-inquiry-origin-in-2017-notes-indicate\">helped<\/a><\/u> the Democratic National Committee handle its response to the 2016 hack, denies wrongdoing, has pleaded not guilty to lying to the FBI, and unsuccessfully called upon the judge to dismiss the case, even <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/clinton-campaign-lawyer-bets-on-fired-fbi-agent-peter-strzok-to-fight-durham-case\">relying<\/a><\/u> in part on <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/strzok-attacks-durham-indictment-against-sussmann-and-chilling-effect-on-fisas\">legal analysis<\/a><\/u> by <u><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/you-deserve-to-be-divorced-not-fired-peter-strzok-quotes-wife-in-arguing-against-fbi-firing-for-anti-trump-texts\">fired FBI agent Peter Strzok<\/a><\/u>. <\/p>\n<p><b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n<p>Hellman said Tuesday that he drove from Virginia to FBI headquarters in the nation\u2019s capital with Batty the day after Sussmann met with Baker, and he obtained signatures from those who had custody over the information, including two thumb drives. <\/p>\n<p>He obtained signatures for a chain of custody form, and the trial exhibit showed Baker gave the information to Strzok, who then gave it to Eric Sporre of the FBI\u2019s cyber division, who then gave it to Batty. <\/p>\n<p>Hellman said Sporre \u201ctold us that it came from a sensitive source.\u201d Berkowitz said Batty characterized it as coming from \u201can anonymous source,\u201d and after reviewing an FBI interview, Hellman replied, \u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s what he thought, it\u2019s how he characterized it in an email to me.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Hellman said he had a \u201cfuzzy memory\u201d of Baker not telling him the source and said it was \u201cweird\u201d and \u201ctroubling.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The defense lawyer displayed a message from Batty to Hellman about doing \u201ca brief summary of what we think about the DNC report.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Hellman said he doesn\u2019t think the \u201cDNC\u201d reference was about the Democratic National Committee and, after an apparent suggestion from the Durham team, said it is possible Batty meant to say \u201cDNS.&#8221; <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An FBI agent involved in analyzing the since-debunked Trump-Russia collusion claims pushed to the bureau by Democratic cybersecurity lawyer Michael Sussmann testified that an<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1479204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1479204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1479204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1479204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1479204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}